Lethal Connection
by existence555
Summary: Because the line between love and hate can be blown away far too easily. Temari tells us a little about why she hates, and perhaps even loves, Shikamaru. Companion to Fatal Attraction. Temari's POV, T for adult themes and some language.


**A/N: This was requested a long time ago. So sorry. Please like it anyway? For those of you who haven't read the other one, this is a companion piece to Fatal Attraction. Review! :)**

I hate his ridiculous, pineapple shaped hair.

Just looking at it makes me sick. Why the hell is it shaped like a fruit? Is he trying to hint at something?

"Put your damn hair down."

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, but, seriously, they needed to be said. He looks at me like I'm insane. After all, we are in a rather _exotic_ position, and that's probably the last thing he expects me to say.

Good. He should always be kept guessing, right?

"What do you have against my hair, woman?" he asks.

His fingers move delicately up my spine, enticing a shiver from my body. It takes an intense, and I mean _intense_, glare to get him to stop.

"It's fruity," I blurt out. "I don't mean… You know what I mean, damn it!"

Shikamaru looks at me like I might be crazy.

"Whatever," he shrugs.

He reaches up to free the fruit and his hair spills over his shoulders.

"Much better," I smirk.

His hair is silky to the touch and _so_ much fun to play with.

"Hello," Shikamaru reminds me. "You're not supposed to be playing with my _hair_. I'm still here, remember?"

My eyelashes flutter innocently and I pull him into a long kiss; my hands don't leave his hair.

"It's much nicer down," I tell him.

Next time I go over to his place for a 'visit', his hair is already down.

"It's easier this way anyway," he mutters sheepishly.

I smirk against his mouth and murmur back that I would've chopped off the damn pineapple sooner or later.

:::

I hate his eyes, his damn eyes that get me into trouble.

He comes to Suna and starts wreaking havoc right away.

HOW AM I THE TROUBLESOME ONE?

"Kazekage-sama, I understand that you are in need of a codebreaker," Shikamaru says.

I can see Gaara nodding out of the very corner of my eye, but I'm mostly preoccupied looking into Shikamaru's eyes.

They're brown, like many people's eyes, but they're just so _different_ from everyone else's. Like, you can tell just by looking into his eyes that he'd rather be cloud watching right now. And you can tell that he's just dying to march over and run away with me. (Well, I might be exaggerating.) And you can tell that he's annoyed that he was the person chosen for this mission, seeing as he had to travel pretty far. Well, I can tell anyway.

"Temari will do it," Gaara assures him.

I look up abruptly. I haven't been paying attention so I missed about half of the conversation, getting lost in his eyes.

"What?" I ask.

I try to avoid meeting Gaara's eyes, which instead leaves me locking eyes with Kankuro. He smirks before winking and motioning to Shikamaru.

"Gaara was just saying that you're gonna help Shikamaru with the mission," Kankuro shrugs. "I don't know if that's a good idea though…"

Gaara raises his eyebrows ever so slightly and I almost gulp. The one person in the world that I can't push around is about to push me around.

"Temari, you've been acting a little disoriented," he begins.

"Yeah," Kankuro snorts, before Gaara sends him a pointed glance.

"Is there something on Shikamaru's face?" Gaara continues. "Perhaps that's why you've been looking at him while I've been explaining his very _important_ mission."

I shrug and try to appear nonchalant.

"I was trying to figure out what color eyes he has," I lie. "It's a trait that we should know about every shinobi."

Kankuro is on the ground in fits of laughter, Shikamaru is smirking, and even Gaara looks slightly amused.

"They're brown, Tem," Kankuro informs me. "At least, that's what I gathered from my one second of looking at them."

"What shade?" I retort lamely, attempting to think of an excuse.

"Perhaps we all need some rest," Shikamaru interrupts. "I'll take Temari to her apartment. Kazekage-sama, we will begin tomorrow."

Gaara nods, smiling faintly.

"If my sister is like this in the morning, we will have to take her off the mission," he replies. "See you tomorrow, Shikamaru."

He waits until we're outside to put an arm around me.

"Shade, Tem?" Shikamaru smirks. "Really?"

The next morning, everybody can see what color his eyes are from a mile away.

Ah, that shade of black is so perfect.

:::

I hate how much he loves his stupid clouds.

I've just come into Konoha and I want to see him, _now_. But he's not in the training grounds that he's using, so what do I do?

"Ino!" I call.

The blonde is running to catch up with a couple other chunin, but she turns around and squints at me.

"Temari-chan!" she yells.

Great. Now she's running towards me and getting faster each second.

Damn Shikamaru. What I have to put up with to find him…

"Temari-chan, you never told me you were coming!" Ino exclaims, throwing her arms around me.

I wince, seeing as she's being loud right next to my _ear_.

"Just found out," I tell her. "I'm supposed to go find Shikamaru for the mission. Know where he is?"

"Oh, him," Ino shrugs. "Probably cloud watching. Not like he does anything else."

She explains how to get to his favorite spot before hugging me and running off again.

Oh, Ino.

I make my way over to the spot, and I'm about to announce myself when I hear voices. Someone's already there with him.

I decide to stay where I am for now, out of sight so that I can continue to listen.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing?"

I recognize the voice as Chouji's and smile. The guy is just a giant lump of love. How he became such good friends with that idiot of a Shikamaru, I don't know.

"Watching the clouds, obviously," Shikamaru replies.

They're silent for a moment.

"See that one?" Shikamaru asks.

I assume he's pointing at a cloud and Chouji is nodding.

"It looks like a fan, right?" Shikamaru chuckles.

"Kind of," Chouji says, unsure.

Shikamaru continues like this with a few more clouds.

"That one looks like a girl's face. Her hair's in pigtails."

"And that one a forehead protector, hm? Can't quite make out what symbol's on it. Not Konoha, I don't think…"

"And that–"

"Shikamaru!" Chouji exclaims. "Listen to yourself!"

I'm puzzled. Shikamaru's just pointing out shapes in the clouds, like he always does. But I suppose there's something off. Hmmm...

"I know," Shikamaru sighs. "I know."

"I'll see you later," Chouji tells him. "Don't think about it, okay?"

I scramble to hide myself as Chouji leaves, but the big shinobi sees me almost right away. I put a finger to my lips and he winks back, grinning.

I sneak up behind Shikamaru. His eyes are fluttering shut as I approach.

"You back, Chouji?" he asks. "What happened?"

"I'm offended," I pout. "Do my footsteps really sound like Chouji's?"

His eyes fly open and his jaw drops.

The lazy ninja sits up rapidly and blinks a few times.

"Tem?" Shikamaru says hesitantly.

"Who else?" I smirk.

I walk closer and lean down to kiss him gently. He pulls me down next to him and we lie together, watching the clouds.

A few moments later, he pokes me.

"You're not a cloud, right?" Shikamaru inquires quietly.

"As if," I snort. "Would a cloud do this?"

And, as our clothes go flying in random directions, I know why I hate his cloud watching.

The only images he sees now all pertain to me, which means he's using them as a way to cope with me not being there.

Why doesn't he just come see me?

Lazyass.

:::

I hate how he thinks he needs to protect me.

The one thing I _know_ I'm good at is my job. And when he won't let me do that…

"Temari-san, your presence is unnecessary here."

I look at him, my mouth half open. His voice is cold and he cannot meet my eyes. I want to _slap_ him.

"Nara, what is the meaning of this?" I snarl. "I don't think you can just–"

"Temari-san," Shikamaru interrupts. "We have no need of your presence here."

"The dead are my people!" I insist. "I have every right to be here."

He turns away, as if he cannot bear to even look in the same direction as me.

"If you feel that you must, you may inspect the scene," he sighs finally. "I can accompany y–"

"Your presence would be most _unnecessary_," I snap. "I will talk to you _later_."

It's the first time in the conversation that his eyes clash with mine. I notice the hurt but I don't realize that it's not his pain that clouds his brown eyes.

"As you wish, Temari-san," he says softly.

The shinobi around us are pointedly ignoring our discussion. None of them know about what _really_ goes on between us, but they don't want to get caught up in the fight.

I walk briskly over to the shed where the two Sand shinobi were found. The smell of death and blood greets me as I duck inside.

"No," I whisper, upon seeing the mangled bodies. "No, no, no!"

I run back outside immediately, only to run into another ninja.

"Sorry," I mumble, not looking up because of the tears forming in my eyes.

"Troublesome woman," the man murmurs.

Comforting arms close around me and I lean into Shikamaru's chest.

"I thought I had met them before," he says. "I didn't want you to have to see them."

"Idiot," I tell him. "You can't protect me from everything."

He chuckles darkly and I feel his lips briefly brush across my forehead.

"I can sure as hell try," he points out.

"I'm perfectly capable on my own," I protest.

His laugh is more genuine this time, as if I have actually said something funny.

"Just get all the tears out," Shikamaru tells me. "And then we can talk."

Ten minutes later, there is a small wet spot on his shirt, and my eyes are red and puffy.

"I told you not to go in there," he reminds me.

"I told you I didn't want to be your damsel in distress," I retort. "You're not my knight in shining armor, come to save me from all the evil in the world."

"Shut the hell up, Temari," Shikamaru snaps.

It's unusual for him to lose his cool. I draw back so that I can see his face properly. He looks frustrated as hell.

"I don't think you're weak," he says forcefully. "You're damn strong. You're the strongest woman I know. But I'll be damned if you think I should send you into a situation that's going to rip you apart just because of your damn ego."

I silently put my arms around him again.

As much as I hate the idea of playing my role, sometimes a knight just has to protect his princess.

My knight does it even when I go against his every move.

You don't find knights like that just anywhere.

:::

I hate how he's smarter than me, and knows it too.

Can't he let me win once in a while?

We're playing shogi and he's about to win, as always, but I'm trying to make him change his mind.

Over the table, everything looks fine, and we're concentrating.

But, under the table, my foot's slowly sliding up his leg, and I can see that he's having a harder time containing himself.

"Come on, Shika," I tell him, using the nickname I use only in more personal situations. "Let me win or…"

I trail off and remove my foot immediately.

He gets my message loud and clear.

_Lose or no sex._

Shikamaru shrugs.

"You lose," he says.

I look down at the board, horrified again. It's the fifth time we've played today, and I've lost _again_.

I glare at him before getting up and leaving the room.

I'm _not_ putting up with this shit!

I need to go sulk in the bedroom.

Even though it's his apartment.

"Tem," he sighs.

"Jerk," I shoot back.

He rolls his eyes as he comes into the room.

"I told you what you'd lose if I lost!" I warned him. "You know what's–"

He's kissing me!

Kissing me!

Shikamaru's kissing me, even though I explicitly–

"Stop thinking whatever you're thinking," he murmurs. "You can't control yourself either."

HE'S INTERRUPTING MY _THOUGHTS_ NOW. IS THIS NOT RIDICULOUS?

If all geniuses used their intelligence for such evil, the world would be a much worse place.

I attempt to move away from him, but his hand comes down to rest on the small of my back, which sends a tingle up my spine.

"You idiot!" I exclaim.

He smirks in triumph.

Twenty minutes later, I'm still mad, he still has the upper hand, and both of us are so happy that we're nearly dazed with happiness.

I'm never going to win at this rate.

Damn genius.

:::

I hate how I can never stay mad at him.

So, imagine, I'm shouting at him because he's a dumbass, and he patiently listens. _Listens_, damn it.

"IF YOU WANT TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME WITH HER, WHY DON'T YOU MOVE IN WITH HER INSTEAD?" I scream angrily.

"Temari," Shikamaru begins. "Don't just–"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YOU BASTARD!" I yell. "JUST GO DIE SOMEWHERE, WILL YOU?"

And, with that, I run into the bathroom and slam the door. How the hell could he think that I wasn't noticing all the 'extra work' he had been doing? Idiot. If he wanted to break it off, he could've just broken it off.

A soft knock at the door interrupts my thoughts.

"Hell, Tem, come out," he sighs. "I'm not going to ask you again and we both know that I'm not going to take the effort the break down the door."

He definitely isn't going to break down the door. Now I can add lazyass (again) to my growing list of words to describe Shikamaru: dumbass, idiot, bastard, asshole, etc.

Still, I was going to have to come out sooner or later. And it would be easier if the breakup was quick.

I come out and look around, perplexed. He's nowhere to be found.

"Ahem," Shikamaru grunts.

I look down and nearly stumble backwards into the bathroom again.

Shikamaru, the dumbass idiot bastard asshole lazyass, is down on one knee and smirking up at me. A tiny box with ring in it sits on his palm. I put a hand to my face; the light bouncing off the diamond is hitting me directly in the eye.

"And that was why I needed Ino," he explains. "You think I could choose this on my own?"

There's a silver band and I can just make out a tiny inscription.

I wordlessly pick up the box and take the ring out.

_For my troublesome woman_, it reads.

Suddenly, my poor boyfr– fiancé is knocked over by the force with which I catapult myself into his arms.

"Yes," I whisper happily. "Yes, you dumbass idiot bastard asshole lazyass, yes!"

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

"I have a few choice words for you too," he replies. "If you want to hear them…"

"I dare you," I smirk. "Let's see how quickly you can make my answer change."

He chuckles and glances at the clock on the opposite wall.

"You lasted exactly thirteen minutes and four seconds," he tells me. "New record."

He pulls me closer and captures my lips with his, making me forget everything that I had thought was going on. When I finally break away, I sigh.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asks.

"I was going for fifteen," I pout, sighing.

He laughs again and strokes my hair before putting his hand in a rather strategic place and pulling me into another kiss.

Hell, I don't need, or even want, a new record.

All I want, or even need, is this.


End file.
